Print

Mail

wiki links

MJIB kicks HIV-positive recruit out of training

A man training to become a Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) agent was asked to stop training after the bureau discovered that he had HIV.

The Gender/Sexuality Rights Association of Taiwan, a human rights group, yesterday leapt to the recruit's defense, saying he should not have been deprived of his right to work.

"We know people cannot be infected with HIV/AIDS by normal contact with people suffering from the disease," association convener Ni Chia-chen (倪家珍) said.

Ni accused the bureau of violating the man's human rights.

Last year, the man passed the bureau's agent examination, and began his training in the beginning of this year.

But last month, the bureau asked the man to quit the training program after a routine health examination established that he was HIV-positive.

The bureau told reporters yesterday that because its agents often have physical contact with people during the course of an investigation, people with HIV are considered "inappropriate" for the job.

The bureau said the recruits in training live together, and those living with the man had also expressed concerns about their health.

It added that bureau rules state that people with serious diseases or those who unable to completely carry out the duties related to an agent's job should not take the examination.

The bureau added that the man had said he was already aware he was HIV-positive, having become infected after have heterosexual intercourse.

"The man said because his disease was under control, he thought he would be able to take the job," the bureau said in a written statement.

Ni said that as the bureau's regulations do not prohibit people with HIV from taking the agent's examination, it should not reject recruits with the disease.

Current law stipulates that the country cannot reject people with HIV/AIDS from taking public service examinations, Ni said, and the Investigation Bureau should follow the same principle.
This story has been viewed 1424 times.